My 2008 Presidential Endorsement

I will most likely look back on this later and realize that I was really supporting a losing cause. But I hope that is not the case.

As I always say, I’m a Republican. I would vote for a Democrat if I found a Democrat that was right on the issues. If you know of one that’s running in 2008, let me know. But as it stands now, I see my choices among the Republican party. We have John McCain, the celebrated maverick of the Republican party, asked by John Kerry to be a running mate in 2004, and the man who lost to then-governor Bush in the 2000 primary. There’s the uber-moderate, pro-choice candidate Rudy Giuliani, the hero mayor of New York City on 9/11. Others are lined up like the staunch constitutionalist Ron Paul (“Congressman No”) as well as speculation about former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich throwing his hat into the ring. As you may have noticed, I have left someone out. I’m talking about Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and savior of the Salt Lake City Olympics is the candidate I am currently endorsing. Let me tell you why.

Mitt Romney is right on all the issues that I hold near and dear to my heart. First of all, being a Mormon, he is a pro-life candidate. Regardless of what he said to get elected in Massachusetts, I really believe that he is pro-life just like he says he is. He believes in protecting our country and the world itself by winning the war on terror. He wants to defeat Islamic fascism. He believes that America should remain a strong competitor in international trade. Asia is catching up with us and we must be prepared to compete; Mitt Romney supports that. He believes in keeping taxes simple and low. Our tax code is so complicated and unfair; it must be remedied. He supports health insurance for every American not by government programs, but through market reform. He believes that America’s energy should be independent. We do not need to rely on foreign countries for our oil sources while we have oil here at home. These are just a few reasons why I endorse Mitt Romney for President.

I’m not here to proclaim that Mitt Romney is perfect. No candidate is. In fact, I’d say there are candidates out there that I may agree with a bit more than I do Mitt Romney. But I do not believe that such people are electable. Mitt Romney is the only electable, truly conservative candidate there is. Now I would certainly vote for another Republican should Romney lose the primary. But as it currently stands, I support Mitt Romney for President in the 2008 election.

I don’t see Brownback going anywhere. Gordy, you’re right. I think Romney is fairly good on those three questions. Giuliani is currently the front-runner across the board for the Republicans, which saddens me because he is not a true Republican. However, a gentleman by the name of Duncan Hunter seems to be a rising conservative star as of late. I’ll admit I don’t know a lot about him, but what I’ve read is that he is like Romney.

Romney’s main detractor is that he is a Mormon. Giuliani’s main detractor (other than his principles as previously stated) is that he has been married about 4 times. Honestly, this is all quite premature at this point. The bottom line is that I will endorse the most conservative and most winnable candidate in 2008. So far on the Democratic side, all I see is uber-liberal candidates like Clinton and Obama, people that could unravel the very fabric of American ideals. And I’ll put almost anyone in the race that I believe can beat either one (or both) of them.

Would you say I’d be stupid if I didn’t elect anyone because they just weren’t good enough (i.e. couldn’t answer those 3 questions the right way)? Keep in mind I don’t do the whole “lesser of 2 evils” thing because I’d rather not vote for any evil.

What are your views on Ron Paul? I like him because he calls the government out on things like the NWO conspiriacy and income tax lies. He also wants to return us to the gold standard and I’m a HHUUGGEE fan of that. But I want to know what you know about him seeing as though you’re into this kind of stuff much more than I.

I don’t think you’d be stupid for voting (or not voting) because of your conscience. But my philosophy is that in ANY election, to some degree, you vote for the lesser of two evils because no human being is perfect. And you have to keep in mind that sometimes the absolute BEST candidate may not be a viable or winnable candidate. Therefore, I recommend voting for someone that legitimately has a chance of being elected. I mean, let’s face it: if Jesus Himself was running for President (which obviously He would not), he wouldn’t win. In fact, I’d say that he would lose in a landslide.

As far as Ron Paul, I agree with him on a lot of things. He’s a conservative and he’s got a lot of great ideas. He’s a staunch constitutionalist, which I think more Americans should be. However, his overall lack of popularity and some of his views make him polarizing to the American public. That’s not Ron Paul’s fault necessarily; it’s the American public’s fault. In the words of the great Winston Churchill: “The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”

That having been said, you have to put someone out there that the American people know (or are EASILY able to get to know) and like. But back to the lesser of two evils. I vote for the lesser of two evils so that the bigger evil doesn’t succeed and make things worse than the lesser would. It’s just like Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Therefore, I will not be the one doing nothing.